CAF Awards 2018
8th January 2019
Dakar, Senegal
The National Senior Football Team (The Uganda Cranes) and skipper Denis Onyango have been shortlisted for Team of the Year and African Player of the Year ahead of the CAF Awards due on 8th January 2019 in Dakar Senegal.

Uganda was nominated together with Mauritania, Kenya, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar and Zimbabwe for the CAF Team of the year award
The Cranes won the CAF Best Team of the year 2016 accolade for the first time in history on 5th January 2017 at Abuja International Conference Nigeria.

Apparently, Uganda is the only African team yet to concede a goal in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers and has already qualified for the finals with a game left in Group L.
The Cranes haven’t lost any game with 13 points in 5 games and scored 7 goals. Only Uganda, Senegal Mali and Burundi still holding unbeaten runs in the 2019 AFCON Qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Uganda Cranes captain Denis Onyango is also on the nominees’ list of CAF Best player of 2018.
Onyango who won the African best player based on the continent for 2016 has kept 5 clean sheets with Uganda Cranes in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.
Onyango is competing with 33 other African players including current holder Mohammad Salah of Egypt.

CAF Technical & Development Committee, Media Experts, Legends and Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup, Coaches and Captains of the national teams of the 54 Member Associations have already voted on their choices for African player of the year.
Meanwhile in the newly released FIFA Rankings on Thursday 29th November, Uganda improved by 4 places from 79th to 75th with 1320 points.
African Player of the Year Nominees list
- Abdelmoumene Djabou (Algeria & ES Setif)
- Ahmed Gomaa (Egypt & El Masry)
- Ahmed Musa (Nigeria & Al-Nassr )
- Alex Iwobi (Nigeria & Arsenal)
- Andre Onana (Cameroon & Ajax)
- Anis Badri (Tunisia & Esperance)
- Ayoub El Kaabi (Morocco & Hebei China Fortune)
- Ben Malango (DR Congo & TP Mazembe)
- Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Fanev Andriatsima (Madagascar & Clermont Foot)
- Franck Kom (Cameroon & Esperance)
- Jacinto Muondo Dala ‘Gelson’ (Angola & Primeiro de Agosto)
- Hakim Ziyech (Morocco & Ajax)
- Idrissa Gueye (Senegal & Everton)
- Ismail Haddad (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
- Jean-Marc Makusu Mundele (DR Congo & AS Vita)
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli)
- Mahmoud Benhalib (Morocco & Raja Club Athletic)
- Mehdi Benatia (Morocco & Juventus)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
- Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto)
- Naby Keita (Guinea & Liverpool)
- Odion Ighalo (Nigeria & Changchun Yatai, Nigeria)
- Percy Tau (South Africa & Union Saint-Gilloise)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
- Taha Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance)
- Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid)
- Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia & Saint-Étienne)
- Walid Soliman (Egypt & Ahly)
- Wilfried Zaha (Cote d’Ivoire & Crystal Palace)
- Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto)
- Youcef Belaili (Algeria & Esperance)
Men’s National Team of the Year
- Guinea Bissau
- Kenya
- Madagascar
- Mauritania
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
MAIN PHOTO: Uganda Cranes team that played against Cape Verde in 2019 Group L AFCON Qualifiers at Namboole on 17th November 2018